Psion 7Book and WiFi

A couple of nights ago I found on eBay a Psion Series 7 ROM upgrade chip for the bargain price of £45 + P&P.

This piece of silicon magic instantly upgrades the Psion Series 7 to a Psion netBook, giving more memory, unlocking a faster processor speed (upped from 132.71 MHz to 191.692 MHz), and allowing Ethernet and WiFi connection.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the eBay seller was none other than regular View from the Potting Shed blog commentator Nigel Alefounder. I also ordered a Cisco Aironet 340 series 11 Mbps Wireless LAN adapter from him.

They arrived this morning, and my Series 7 is now proudly rebranded as a so-called “7Book”. The upgrade was simple: a complete power down (including backup battery), remove the Series 7 ROM, insert the netBook ROM, power back up (backup battery first, main battery, and then power cable), insert the Compact Flash card containing the latest netBook OS image file (R158), and switch on.

The Cisco WiFi card took a little more work, and I’ve still not managed to get it to connect to our wireless network, and from what I’ve just read on Silverster’s EPOC FAQ site I never will.

It appears that some versions of the Series 7 / 7Book do not provide enough current to the PCMCIA port; the slot into which the WiFi card plugs. I discovered on the PDA Street forum that the current of the PCMCIA port on the Psion 7 = 300mA, and on the netBook = 750mA. The Cisco Aironet 340 series seemingly runs at 580 mA which would explain why it doesn’t work on my 7Book.

I’ve ordered a Proxim (Lucent) Orinoco Silver for £8.75 from eBay, which I’m hoping will work; its current is a much more efficient — and, more crucially, 7Book-capable — 285 mA. One advantage of the Orinoco over the Cisco is that it supports 64bit WEP encryption (improved security), and you can also use the built-in NetStatRF application (which scans for available wireless networks, but is only compatible with Lucent WaveLAN / Orinoco cards).

WiFi for Psion is nearly at Potting Shed HQ, but I’ll just have to wait a little longer.

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Gareth Saunders

I’m Gareth J M Saunders, 46 years old, 6′ 4″, father of 3 boys (including twins).
Latterly, web architect and agile project manager at the University of St Andrews and warden at Agnes Blackadder Hall. Currently on sabbatical.
I am a priest in the Scottish Episcopal Church, and I sing with the NYCGB alumni choir.
View all posts by Gareth Saunders

From what I recall it was great. I had both WiFi cards that worked with the Series 7/netBook hybrid (the so-called 7Book) and both worked perfectly. I used to love sitting in bed with my Psion checking and writing emails or chatting with friends on MSN Messenger.

Just realised you replied!
Appreciated. I nostalgically purchased a netBook earlier this year with the hope of getting it online.
I’m likely to follow in your footsteps in purchasing one of the Orinoco’s you mention.
Thanks!